Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 113: Nipping Things in the Bud!

The battle inside the cabin of the sailboat was fierce. The blood of both the members of the Shadow Specter Sect and the Blood Moon Sect flowed like rivers. The clashing of spiritual power and the weapons were deafening.

After entering the cabin, Pang Jian calmly stood at the staircase and surveyed the battlefield.

The spacious cabin contained an array similar to the one on the ground floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda. It was embedded with spirit jades. Iron cages with Vicious Beasts lined the corners of the cabin.

There were several blood pools in the center of the cabin surrounded by cabinets filled with coagulated chunks of blood. The workers responsible for processing the beasts cowered near the cages, watching the battle between the Shadow Specter Sect and the Blood Moon Sect in terror.

These people were not members of the Blood Moon Sect. They were merely workers tasked with solidifying the blood of the Vicious Beasts into chunks.

When the members of the Shadow Specter Sect saw Pang Jian, they cheered excitedly, their morale soaring.

"You killed Fei Zheng?"

"If you're here, that means Fei Zheng is dead! Hong Jian, you're much stronger than Hong Tai!"

They had witnessed Pang Jian's ambush on Fei Zheng at Musical Instrument Street and knew that his presence on the sailboat meant Fei Zheng was likely dead.

"He killed Fei Zheng?" The Blood Moon Sect cultivators paled at these words, their resistance weakening significantly.

Pang Jian ignored everyone present and headed straight for the cabinets filled with coagulated beast blood. One by one, the beast blood vanished into his raised palm. Concealed under his sleeve was a spatial bracelet with ten times the capacity of a spatial pouch, enabling him to discreetly take the coagulated beast blood.

Rumble!

On the deck, Zhao Ling shattered the skull of a Blood Moon Sect cultivator at the Marrow Cleansing Realm with a thunderous explosion from her blue staff. With that, only one Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator from the Blood Moon Sect remained on the beast-hunting sailboat.

With Meng Qiulan and Zhao Ling closing in from both sides, the Blood Moon Sect cultivator in the mid-stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm yelled madly, "The Shadow Specter Sect must have a death wish! After today, the Blood Moon Sect will surely eradicate you!"

Zhao Ling snorted. The floating ball of lightning within her blue staff glowed brightly and crashed around him with a terrifying rumble.

"Even the future of the seven major clans is uncertain. Whether the Shadow Specter Sect remains is not for the Blood Moon Sect to decide!" she shouted back.

Now that she was aware of the catastrophe occurring in the Fourth World, she was urgently gathering spirit materials to advance to the Innate Realm as soon as possible.

She was still young. If she could advance to the Innate Realm, she still had a chance of surviving in the Third World.

Meanwhile, a stunning figure shrouded in bloody mist had silently appeared at the mast of the Formless Sailboat.

She floated gracefully before the crescent moon on the black flag, which let off a crimson light.

The crescent moon was like an eye and could record the happenings around the Formless Sailboat for future review by the Blood Moon Sect.

"I can't let the Blood Moon Sect see too much," Luo Hongyan muttered, extending a red crystalline arm to grasp the crimson crescent moon on the flag.

Crack!

She snapped the illusory crescent moon into half like it was solid. The shattered pieces disappeared into the spatial bracelet on her arm.

On the deck, Zhao Ling, Wu Yi, and Meng Qiulan had just killed the last Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator. As they were about to rush into the cabin, they noticed the abrupt dimming of the crimson light overhead and looked up to see a blurry, ethereal crimson figure gracefully floating in mid-air.

"Ah!" The trio were horrified. Anyone with the ability to hover in mid-air like that was not someone they could deal with.

"Why-why would someone this powerful be here..." Meng Qiulan's voice trembled. She prepared to call off the ambush and retreat.

"Don't be scared, I'm not with the Blood Moon Sect," Luo Hongyan said with a gentle smile. She winked at Meng Qiulan from mid-air. "Like you, I'm here to raid this beast-hunting sailboat and take some beast blood and meat."

Meng Qiulan froze at her words.

Zhao Ling was more daring. She hastily stepped aside, pulling Wu Yi with her to expose the staircase leading to the cabin.

"Please go ahead. You can take what you want, just leave some for us." Zhao Ling bowed. Her prominent figures could be seen as she bent over.

"Smart girl." Luo Hongyan floated toward the staircase and said warmly, "Don't worry, I'll leave some for you."

"Thank you!" Meng Qiulan also bowed in gratitude.

Realizing that all their Marrow Cleansing Realm experts had been killed, the remaining Blood Moon Sect cultivators stopped fighting and fled the scene.

***

Inside the cabin, Pang Jian was excitedly collecting chunks of coagulated blood when he heard a strange sound coming from a large barrel.

The massive barrel was taller than him and he could hear the sound of splashing blood inside.

"You're so young and from the lower world, yet you possess a spatial bracelet." A cold male voice came from the barrel.

The lid of the barrel flew off, instantly filling the room with the metallic scent of blood!

A writhing blood shadow then appeared.

Pang Jian thrust his Startling Slaughter Spear at the massive blood shadow, and fiery meteors blasted it apart. However, after the bombardment, the blood shadow instantly reformed from the scattered blood light!

"Trickster!" Pang Jian yelled.

"You have a high-grade spirit weapon? Impressive, very impressive!" the blood shadow exclaimed in surprise.

The mysterious blood shadow exuded a fierce aura that pressured Pang Jian far more than even Fei Zheng did.

The other cultivators inside the cabin appeared unaware of the blood shadow as they glanced around in confusion at the rising aura of intimidation.

The blood shadow floated out of the barrel, its head taking shape to reveal the face of a middle-aged man with a square jaw.

"Boy, I commissioned the Blood Moon Sect to forge me a new body. If you take all the beast blood away, the forging of my new body will halt." The blood shadow drifted toward Pang Jian. "Leave everything behind. Put down your spear and spatial bracelet, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

Everybody in the cabin, regardless of sect or cultivation, started to spew blood.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Everyone aside from Pang Jian was coughing up blood. The ordinary workers died within seconds while cultivators gradually collapsed one after another.

Pang Jian paled.

An inexplicable force infiltrated his body, trying to gather his blood and expel it. He hastily activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, barely suppressing the evil force and avoiding the same fate as the others.

The blood shadow's offer to let him leave was a blatant lie. It had already initiated its attack on him.

"You're not leaving?" the blood shadow asked, staring at Pang Jian. "Then you won't leave at all."

The sticky blood on the ground suddenly rushed toward Pang Jian, engulfing him in a crimson cocoon.

At that moment, Luo Hongyan floated gracefully into the cabin to see Pang Jian being wrapped up in thick, sticky blood, which then solidified within seconds.

"The Blood Cocoon Technique!" she exclaimed.

Meng Qiulan, Zhao Ling, and Wu Yi arrived shortly after.

"Hong Jian!" they cried out in alarm.

As they took in the sight of everyone coughing up blood and Pang Jian cocooned in solidified blood, the trio quickly realized the severity of the situation.

"Hall Master Meng! Hall Master Zhao!" Fan Liang called from the deck, attempting to enter with more Shadow Specter Sect members.

"Everyone, leave the beast-hunting sailboat immediately! No one is allowed to enter the cabin!" Meng Qiulan shouted toward the staircase.

The blood shadow now bore the face of a middle-aged man, which shifted into a grave expression upon seeing Luo Hongyan. "Who are you? I'm not a member of the Blood Moon Sect. I just commissioned them to forge a body for me. I mean no offense."

"I know." Luo Hongyan nodded with a gentle smile. "There's a rich vitality in your body that I need, so... my apologies."

Whoosh!

Luo Hongyan transformed into a crimson mist that swallowed the giant blood shadow.

Zhao Ling and the others watched as the blood shadow disintegrated within the crimson mist.

"You witch, my true body will come for you!" the blood shadow screamed furiously.

"Even if your true body comes looking for me, it won't know I did this." Luo Hongyan laughed dismissively. "I destroyed the Blood Moon Sect's Eye of Imprint before coming down, so there will be no record of what happened. I'll also erase this fragment of your soul. Even if your true body descends from the upper world, it won't know who killed you."

Her terrifying power overwhelmed the blood shadow and shattered its soul fragment.

Meng Qiulan, Zhao Ling, and Wu Yi watched silently from the staircase, not daring to descend.

"Don't worry, I will leave some for you," Luo Hongyan assured as a spatial bracelet floated out of the crimson mist. The spatial bracelet glowed red as it hovered between the cabinets.

Chunks of coagulated beast blood disappeared one after the other

After some time, Luo Hongyan's melodious voice rang out from the mist, "This should be enough. The remaining beast meat and spirit jades in the cabinets are yours."

She then silently floated toward the exit.

The trio hurriedly stepped aside, watching as she drifted up the staircase.